Dallas Mavericks 86 vs. Miami Heat 83 – NBA Finals Game-4 Second Half Analysis
Third Quarter
Trailing by 47-45 at halftime, Dallas Mavericks came out strong in the third quarter and scored the first four points to take a 49-47 lead. Miami responded immediately as Chris Bosh hit a pair of free throw and Dwyane Wade hit
a driving finger roll lay-up shot to tie the game at 51-51 with 09:06 to go in the third. Wade then scored a free throw to put the Heat ahead by one point. Miami didn’t have the lead for long though as Jose Barea’s driving reserve lay-up in the next possession
gave the Mavs a one-point lead midway through the frame, 57-56.
With Barea finally coming into his groove, Dallas snatched the momentum and raced onto a 64-61 lead with 03:52 left in the quarter. Miami however responded went on an 8-0 run in the next two minutes of the third to take a 69-64
advantage.
Mavericks centre Tyson Chandler scored a free throw to nip the Heat surge and make it 69-65, 01:02 remaining in the quarter. Jason Kidd and forward Dirk Nowitzki missed open three-pointers in the last minute as Miami led by four
heading into the final period.
Fourth Quarter
After tightly contested first three quarters of the game, Miami opened up the game in the fourth with a 5-0 spurt. Mike Miller hit a three-pointer at 10:48 mark and Udonis Haslem hit a jump shot on the next possession to make it
74-65 early in the quarter. Jason Terry’s driving lay-up and a pull-up jump shot cut the deficit to 74-69.
With Miami once again breaking the game early in the fourth, Nowitzki responded for Dallas and hit a pair of free throw and a driving lay-up shot to trim the margin to three points only. Wade’s lay-up on the next possession however
widened Heat’s lead to 78-73 with 07:24 to go in the quarter.
The Mavs though again erupted in the second half of the fourth. They reeled off a 7-0 run to take an 80-78 lead with 04:36 remaining in the final buzzer. What followed was easily the best display of defence, both team have showed
in the Finals so far. The offensive systems of both the teams remained shut for approximately two and half minutes before Nowitzki finally managed to draw a foul to make it 82-78 for Dallas. Bosh also hit a pair of free throws at the other end to make it a
two-point contest at 82-80 and only 1:53 left on the clock.
Wade scored one-of-two free throws to cut the deficit to one point. However Dallas made huge inroads with Nowitzki‘s driving lay-up. Three down with 14 seconds left, Miami called a time out. They returned and Wade slammed the ring
within 5 seconds to bring the deficit to one. James then ran out to foul Terry in the next play. Terry however nailed both free throws and put the Mavs ahead by 86-83 with six seconds to go in the game. Miller missed a 3-pointer in the closing second that
could send the game into overtime.
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